Extradition warrant

Ecuador's President Lenín Moreno said his country had fulfilled its obligations under international law.

“Today, I announce that the discourteous and aggressive behaviour of Mr Julian Assange… have led the situation to a point where the asylum of Mr Assange is unsustainable and no longer viable,” he said in a video posted to Twitter.

The country's Foreign Minister Juan Valencia said Assange's citizenship will be "suspended".

Assange has been holed up in the embassy since mid-2012, after Sweden issued an international warrant for his arrest over sexual assault allegations.

Assange's later arrest on behalf of US authorities came after Moreno said that he had "requested Great Britain to guarantee that Mr Assange would not be extradited to a country where he could face torture or the death penalty."

"The British Government has confirmed it in writing, in accordance with its own rules," he said.

Reactions to the arrest

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Home Secretary Sajid Javid both said Assange was not "above the law" and thanked Moreno for allowing police to arrest him.

"Julian Assange is no hero and no one is above the law. He has hidden from the truth for years," Hunt tweeted.

Australian-based adviser to Assange and WikiLeaks, Greg Barns, said the arrest should concern all Australians.

“The American charges carry a maximum of 45 years penalty which is draconian in the circumstances where all that Assange has done is to do what other journalists and publishers do, and that is to reveal the existence of news which may be uncomfortable for governments but certainty is in the public interest," he said.

In a tweet, WikiLeaks claimed that "Powerful actors, including CIA, are engaged in a sophisticated effort to dehumanise, delegitimize and imprison" Assange.